What Does She See?
by stexgirl2000
Summary: Hoshi's friend's wonder about her and Malcolm.


Title:What Does She See?  
  
Author:Stexgirl2000  
  
Disclaimer:Horror! Star Trek or Enterprise doesn't belong to me. It's Paramount's--damn it! I wrote this for my own enjoyment and I don't make any money from it.  
  
Rating: PG-13 (for some language)  
  
Category: Romance/Friendship/Angst  
  
Codes: R/S, M, C, OC's  
  
Spoilers: None for the show. Just for my story "The Quiet Man.  
  
Summary: Hoshi's female friends wonder about her and Malcolm.  
  
Archive: Permission given to LD, Lumi, and Warp 5. Everyone else has to ask.  
  
Author's notes: Un-beta'd. Any mistakes are my own. Inspired from feedback that Mareel gave me about "The Quiet Man."  
  
What Does She See?  
  
"I don't understand what she sees in him. I don't get it at all. She's my friend and one of the smartest women I know, but I don't get it," murmured Anna Tran to Liz Cutler and Ellen Kelly.  
  
Sitting in the messhall, they watched as Hoshi Sato sat down across from Malcolm Reed, giving him a brilliant smile. He looked up from his ever present padd and gave her a small smile back. He ate silently as she began to talk.  
  
Liz grinned. "Simple. Opposites attract."  
  
Anna gave a small snort. "I'm not buying that "opposites attract" shit. Opposites end up in divorce court bitter and hurt because they can't agree to anything. Look at them: he's so...quiet. Reserved. By-the-book. A workaholic. Hoshi socializes and has a sense of humor. She is anything but by-the-book. I mean, we all know that if we need to get Captain Archer to unbend about something, talk to Hoshi and she'll work on him. So I don't get what she sees in Reed."  
  
"He's thoughtful, dependable, and the most dangerous man on the ship," offered Ellen. "He might make her feel safe. Not a bad thing, considering that Hoshi isn't typical Starfleet. And he's been training her for a long time."  
  
"Oh, come on. You think Hoshi's with him because he makes her feel safe? What is safe about a guy who had a rep of having a slew of short 'fuck 'em and leave them smiling' relationships?" asked Anna.  
  
The three women looked over at the table. Hoshi was listening to Malcolm, as he was pointing to the padd. Her hand was on top of one his. He paused and their eyes met as Malcolm reached up and pushed away a tendril of hair that had escaped her braid.  
  
"Oh, and it's all his fault? What about the women he was with? Don't they have some responsibility? It takes two, as the saying goes," said Liz, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Okay, so what does it say about him that he went after women who were only out for a good time? Does she know what she's up for now that they're engaged?" asked Anna.  
  
"I think Hoshi knows exactly what she's in for," said a quiet voice. The three women turned and looked up at Travis Mayweather. "May I sit down?"  
  
"Sure, Travis," said a nervous Ellen. "Look, Travis, don't get me wrong, we were just..."  
  
"You were just wondering," finished Travis with a good natured smile. "It's a small ship and trust me, you three haven't been the only ones talking about Hoshi and Malcolm's engagement. It pretty much has been the talk of the ship. Hell, the betting pool is seeing more action than the time that Commander Tucker was with that princess."  
  
"So," asked Liz slyly, "what's your take on Hoshi and Malcolm?"  
  
Travis dug into his pasta and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. "They love one another for who they really are."  
  
"That isn't an answer, Travis," said Anna.  
  
They paused and watched as Malcolm got up and went to get two desserts, which he brought back to Hoshi. She smiled in delight at the two different slices of cheesecake.  
  
"Yes, it is," retorted Travis mildly. "Look, Hoshi was a linguistics prodigy, pushed far ahead of her peers because of her abilities. She was expected to be outgoing and energetic and brilliant. Yet, she was cut off from people. Malcolm was raised to be remote, proper, quiet, and contained. He was encouraged to be remote. He was expected to have a military career of some sort. She was expected to be a teacher, a researcher. But they didn't do what was expected."  
  
"Interesting. Go on," prodded Ellen. Anna nodded in agreement and Liz raised a curious eyebrow.  
  
Travis smiled once more and took a sip of his drink. "Well, they bucked the expectations placed on them by going into Starfleet and being on the Enterprise. But even here, we've all locked them into certain roles. Around each other, they allow their other sides to show. Hoshi can be a very quiet, introspective person. And Malcolm has a dry, wry, sense of humor. They both don't open up their deepest selves very easily."  
  
A laugh from Malcolm made the four stop to look. Hoshi had a mischievous quirk to her lips. Malcolm leaned in and kissed her hand. He went back to looking at his padd as Hoshi slowly ate her cheesecake.  
  
"All right, I get that. I mean, we all have sides to ourselves that we don't show publicly. But he's still very quiet, reserved, and..." Ellen's voice trailed off uncertainly.  
  
"He's got a rage, a temper, underneath his military bearing," offered Anna. "I mean, he almost punched you out, Travis, last week, here in the messhall."  
  
"Yeah," said Travis, "but he didn't."  
  
"All of this still doesn't answer the question about what Hoshi sees in Malcolm," sighed Ellen.  
  
"Or if she realizes what she's getting into, marrying a man who isn't comfortable with words when she's a linguist," added Anna. "It's not going to be easy."  
  
"Nothing worth it ever is easy," said Travis, inwardly amused that he was once again repeating his father's words.  
  
Liz took a sip of her coffee and quietly said, "I think I get it."  
  
Anna and Ellen looked at her in surprise, while Travis eyed her with interest.  
  
Liz looked at her friends. "Words can be used as weapons. Words can also protect. Just as much as phase pistol can kill, or wound, or be used to bluff. They both, in their own way, help protect us. It's not so much that they're opposites as they compliment one another. She can say the words he can't, but he speaks with his actions. He communicates in his own way."  
  
Liz took another swig of her coffee and smiled. "Besides, if he was a different man, he wouldn't be the man she'd love. My grandmother says that if you're looking to change the person you love, then you're in love for all the wrong reasons."  
  
Travis laughed. "My grandmother said almost the same thing to me once."  
  
Malcolm got up and disposed of their trays. Walking back over to the table, he silently offered his hand to Hoshi. Taking it, she got up and they started walking out of the messhall. Stopping at the table, Malcolm looked at Travis. "Travis, are we still on for the movie tomorrow night?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. You'll like it, it's got lots of action and explosions," teased Travis.  
  
Malcolm smiled as Hoshi laughed. "Just don't make it a double feature, guys, or I'll hunt you down," she teased back.  
  
As Travis laughed back, Malcolm said mildly, "She's not joking. I'm under a curfew with her."  
  
"That's right," shot back Hoshi. "He's got a strict...bed time," she purred.  
  
Travis laughed harder as the three women at the table looked incredulously at Malcolm and Hoshi; Malcolm reddening and Hoshi winking.  
  
"I'll remember. Promise," gasped Travis.  
  
"Good," said Hoshi, "So, Liz, Anna, Ellen, do you all want to get together tomorrow night? I've got some chocolate fondue."  
  
Liz grinned in anticipation. "Hell yes! I'll snag some fruit and cake to dip."  
  
Anna and Ellen nodded in agreement. "I'll bring something to drink," said Ellen.  
  
Hoshi smiled happily. "Great! See you all tomorrow at 1830. Goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight," echoed Malcolm. He led her to the messhall door, opening it for her. The four remained quiet as they watched their friends leave.  
  
"Well," said Liz, after the door closed, "one thing's for sure, they are happy together."  
  
"Our armory officer is putty in her hands," giggled Ellen. "I mean, she has him on a bedtime curfew? He has got love her if he puts up with her saying that."  
  
"Yeah," said Anna slowly. "Yeah, that's true. But I still don't get what she sees in him."  
  
"Maybe you're asking the wrong question," offered Travis, a mischievous smile lighting his face. He got up from the table, picking up his now empty tray. "Maybe you should be asking what it is that he sees in her." With a wink, he walked away.  
  
Liz and Ellen began to laugh as Anna stared at Travis. 


End file.
